Implementation and Evaluation of a Discharge Planning for Patients Undergoing Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to implement a discharge planning for patients undergoing umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) and evaluate the effects on discharge readiness, length of stay, hospital readmission, self-efficacy, and quality of life (QoL). Methods Participants (n = 66) were assigned to a control group (CG: received usual care) or an intervention group (IG: received discharge planning). Discharge readiness, length of stay, and the rate of hospital readmission were collected. Additionally, self-efficacy and quality of life survey (FACT-BMT) were assessed at hospital admission (T1), discharge (T2), and approximately Day 100 after UCBT (T3). Results The discharge planning group showed significantly better discharge readiness (p < 0.001), improvement in self-efficacy (increased by 11.04% at T3), the time effect (p = 0.035) and interaction effect (p = 0.027) were significant. Except for emotional and social well-being, all the other dimensions and three total scores of FACT-BMT in the IG were higher than controls, the main effect of group was significant (p < 0.05). However, discharge planning did not reduce patients’ length of stay or hospital readmissions. Conclusion This study provided the evidences on the implementation of discharge planning for patients undergoing UCBT, and suggested that nurse-led discharge planning should be incorporated into usual care for successful hospital-to-home transitions.